


Making Friends in High Places

by i_zu_mo



Series: Banana Fish Tumblr Prompts [3]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends, M/M, haha the title is because shorter is on top of the slide hahahaha i'm so clever right, kill me please, snorter... is here..
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 09:02:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16014680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_zu_mo/pseuds/i_zu_mo
Summary: NYC playgrounds are scary, someone stole a pig, and Eiji has a headache.





	Making Friends in High Places

**Author's Note:**

> this is horrendous but i can’t think anymore and i’m tired of this sitting in my drafts so i’m posting it and i’ll fix it later _i’ll fix it later_
> 
> this will be a 2-parter because i’m a mess
>
>> Prompt: ummm for writing prompt, how about a childhood friends ashoreiji one? xoxo

Eiji Okumura is eight years old, and he’s already very aware of two hard truths. The first is that he lives in a world of giants; he’s the smallest boy in his class and every day presents a new (sometimes literal) obstacle he has to overcome. People are tall. Too tall. The second thing he knows is that, while other kids his age are generally peaceful, if not a little chaotic, older kids are objectively terrifying. They’re bigger and louder and know more words than he does, and they possess a potential for cruelty that he’s helpless against.

His mother sits on a bench at the edge of the playground chatting with a short, plump lady they’ve run into at the supermarket before. He stands awkwardly, little hands wringing his shirt, and waits. Not only do the kids out there look big, but the public park is an entirely different beast than his elementary school’s playground. There are tall trees and weird, impossible structures with kids hanging off them, and he’s pretty sure the bouncy caterpillar ride is actually alive and staring at him.

“Ei-chan,” his mother calls, and he turns to see her gently shooing him with one hand. “Go play! I’ll be right here watching.”

Eiji looks at the plump lady, hoping to gain an ally. She just smiles at him, the corners of her eyes wrinkling pleasantly. Figures.

“Go make some friends,” his mother encourages again, but Eiji doesn’t feel very inspired. If he’s being honest with himself, he’s a little insulted. It’s not like he doesn’t have friends. He just likes being by himself a lot of the time.

With one last mournful glance at his mom and the (unhelpful) lady, he starts to take small, unsure steps across the sea of wood chips, trying to decide where he wants to go. He wants somewhere a little quieter, somewhere not overwhelmed by packs of his screaming peers, at least until he can get used to his new environment.

He’s fond of the swings, but there’s a small group of older kids gathered around them and he just doesn’t feel like dealing with that situation. He squints against the sun as he keeps walking, and a few more seconds pass before he hears high-pitched, angry shouting from somewhere to his left. Eiji stops. Maybe 15 feet away (he doesn’t really know how to measure distance, he’s only eight), standing at the foot of a slide, is a tiny boy with longish blond hair and something small and blue clutched in one of his fists. Eiji can’t make out what he’s, well, screeching, but he sees that he’s glaring intensely at something on top of the jungle gym the slide is attached to. From where he’s standing, Eiji can’t get a good look at what it is.

He takes a few tentative steps forward.

“Give it back!” the little boy squeaks out, and the sheer fury in his voice gives Eiji goosebumps. It’s like a squeaky toy on the offensive.

As he rounds the corner, he sees what - or rather _who_ \- the boy is yelling at.

There’s another kid standing at the top of the slide, and Eiji realizes that he had been partially hidden by the walls and bars of the jungle gym before. He looks to be a year or two older than Eiji, with most of his hair buzzed close to his head and the rest styled into a fluffy black mohawk. Sunlight glints off his dark sunglasses. He has one hand propped against his hip while his other holds something brown and leathery high in the air, and he’s smirking triumphantly down at the little blond boy.

Oh. _Oh_.

Suddenly, it clicks. Eiji becomes aware of a third hard truth. Where there exists justice, there will also exist injustice. He’s just walked in on a hostage situation.

He thinks about running to his mom, but he knows he can’t involve her. This isn’t his fight to call parental figures in on. He doesn’t even really know the situation yet. All he has is a hunch.

The little blond boy looks like he’s about to cry, and Eiji finds his feet moving again. “Um.”

Both kids turn toward him immediately, the blond boy's eyes narrowing while the other kid's eyebrows furrow behind his sunglasses frame.

Suddenly, he feels like he's interrupted something personal.

“Uh, wh– Er, hi,” he stammers, lifting a hand in a cautious wave. The two boys stare him down, and Eiji isn’t sure which is more intimidating: the impressive height of the older kid standing on top of the slide, or the look of absolute distrust in the younger one’s big green eyes.

The silence is a little jarring.

Finally, right as he opens his mouth to attempt to chirp out something coherent, the little blond boy speaks. “What d’you want?”

He really does sound like a squeaky toy.

“Oh, uh, I just… I heard you yelling,” Eiji says, taking a step back apologetically. “And, uh, I’m sorry, I thought–“

“Who’s this?” the other kid demands from atop his tower, and Eiji can’t help but think he resembles some kind of evil king. “I ain’t seen your face around here before.”

He swallows his nervousness and takes a little breath. Make friends. _Make friends_.

“My name is Eiji,” he says with his best beaming smile, and the two boys seem a bit taken aback at his cheerfulness. Even the little blond’s eyes soften. “I am new here. What’s going on?”

“We, uh–“

“This guy took my baseball mitt,” the little one informs him, straightening himself to stand a bit taller. “He’s a huge jerk, so stay away from him.”

“Hey! Who are you callin’ a jerk, you jerk?! You’re the one who took Snorter!”

 _Snorter_? Who was Snorter?

“I told you, I didn’t take your dumb cow!”

“He’s a pig!”

“A-ah, guys!” Eiji interrupts, holding both hands up in a pleading gesture. “Let’s talk!!” He turns toward the boy on top of the slide. Most immediate matters first. “Can he have his mitt back? Please?” There’s desperation in his voice. “It’s wrong to steal things from others.”

Eiji can tell that the little boy wants to bark out a retort, but then something in his face shifts and he chews his bottom lip in consideration. With a huff, he jumps off the slide and lands near them in a scattering of wood chips. The littler boy tightens the grip on the blue thing in his fist like he’s holding a knife – and Eiji sees it’s a _crayon_ , of all things– and moves toward him, stopping abruptly when the other kid holds out the mitt to him.

“Here,” he sighs. “Don’t cry, okay? Geez, you’re too much of a baby.”

“You’re just giving it back to me?” the blond asks slowly, suspiciously. Regardless, he reaches out and snatches it.

The other kid shrugs with an air of arrogance, like he’s showing off. “Cuz I’m mature.” Okay, yeah, he’s showing off.

“You took it in the first place!”

“Guys!” Eiji shouts again. He’s getting a headache. The little boy growls and clutches the mitt to his chest. Eiji sighs, then turns to the boy with the sunglasses. He wishes he could see his eyes. “I will help you look for, um, what is his name?”

“Snorter,” the boy says seriously, and then he breaks out in a big grin. “And you can call me Shorter.” _What_?

“I’m coming too!” The little blond insists, stepping in beside Eiji and glaring at Shorter. “My name is Aslan.”

“Weird name,” Shorter sneers.

“Says someone named Shorter!”

“Stop!” By now, Eiji is beginning to understand why parents are always complaining about being tired. He’s exhausted. “Where did you last see your pig?”

Shorter hums thoughtfully, scratching at the fuzzy part of his head. “I’m pretty sure it was around the monkey bars,” he says after moment. “I set him down for a few seconds and when I looked again, he was gone. This little kid was hanging around so I thought he took him.”

Aslan looks like he wants to hit him with the baseball mitt. Eiji isn’t sure he’d blame him. “You’re a little kid too!”

“The monkey bars,” Eiji confirms with a nod, looking from one boy to another. “We’ll start there.”

**Author's Note:**

> Who took Snorter? When will there be justice?!


End file.
